Mark Your Calendars-Berkeley Springs Birding Festival Sept. 16, 17, 18

2011 FALL BIRDING FESTIVAL
BERKELEY SPRINGS, WV
SEPTEMBER 16, 17 & 18 2011
FESTIVAL HEADQUARTERS THE COUNTRY INN OF BERKELEY SPRINGS

FEATURED GUESTS
Sharon Stiteler Writer and national presenter will get the festival off on an energetic pace. Her blog has been recognized in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and on NBC Nightly News. Her writing has appeared in WildBird, Outdoor News, and Birding Business.
MARCY HEACKER Forensic Ornithologist at the fabulous Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC will return to the festival with more behind-the-scenes stories and adventures.
LIAM McGRANAGHAN Raptor biologist, Audubon Naturalist Instructor, photographer and writer returns to the festival to focus our birding adventures on the raptor migrants passing through the area.

WALKS AND WORKSHOPS
EARLY SATURDAY MORNING BIRDWALK: Guest and local birders invite you to explore favorite sites along the Cacapon River.
BEGINNING BIRDING FOR ALL AGES AT CACAPON STATE PARK: Park Naturalist Kelly Smith introduces birding fundamentals to launch you on a lifetime of adventures.
THE JOYS OF BACKYARD BIRDING: Learn to attract, identify, and enjoy a wide variety of visitors to your yard.
EIDOLON: Hike the trails of a local Nature Conservancy preserve maintained by the Potomac Valley Audubon Society. Explore the wildlife and natural features as well as the human history of this fascinating 354 acre site on Sideling Mountain.
ANNUAL SUNDAY MORNING WALK AT SLEEPY CREEK RETREAT: New and returning festival participants look forward to birding at Sleepy Creek where sweeping vistas merge with pond, stream, woodland, and meadow sites. Migrating raptors are sure to make an appearance, offering a memorable close to the festival weekend.
For more information and festival updates contact The Nature Niche in Berkeley Springs at 304.258.0992 or natureniche@earthlink.net and www.natureniche.biz

Reserve accommodations for this Berkeley Springs weekend event at Travel Berkeley Springs www.berkeleysprings.com.
THE POTOMAC VALLEY AUDUBON SOCIETY
OFFICIAL SPONSOR OF THE 2010 BERKELEY SPRINGS FALL BIRDING FESTIVAL
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Wheezing deer

One night in early June I woke up to a weird noise. Some animal (outside, fortunately) was making a loud, very forced wheezing noise. Kind of like someone forcing all the air out while yelling "HAH". It went on for awhile. I got up to check. It was a lone deer...male? female? I didn't ask. It finally wandered away, but I heard it in the distance for a while.

I was talking with Janet Anderson yesterday, and she reported hearing the same thing over the weekend! Anyone know anything about what the behavior signifies? Territory? Mate attraction?

Anyone know this caterpillar?

I definitely do not and a cursory google search yielded no definitive answer. If you know or have time to dig deeper let me know!

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

These are the very large yellow butterflies zipping around our yards. See the tail for the interesting colors. Clicking any photo reveals the details.
The males and females are different but also have a dark morph you have likely seen too:

Dorsal and ventral sides of Papilio glaucus adults

1. Dorsal male
2. Dorsal female
3. Dorsal female (dark morph)
4. Ventral male
5. Ventral female
6. Ventral female (dark morph)
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Papilio_glaucus_adults,_MM.jpg

Red Oak Borer

I didn't know what this was until looking it up. I believe it is a red oak borer. Although most of our lot has white oak this bug can affect white oak too and it is considered a pest by the timber industry. Maybe I should have squished him?

Black widows love our deck...unfortunately

Female and male black widow spiders on our deck. The second picture is the male. Note the typical hour glass markings on his abdomen. Only the female has toxin in her bite.

Orchard Spider

If you don't click the photo to enlarge you miss all the details!

Augochlora Sweat Bee

I think that is what this is. I found it on http://www.insectidentification.org/. If you disagree feel free to post in the comments section below.

How to identify bugs?

This website: http://www.insectidentification.org/ has a lot of helpful information. It doesn't have all of them but it has many of them. Just select colors, body type and state and you can see the choices.

Checkered Beetle

View from my deck after a recent afternoon storm. I wonder if Marie and John Hardy have found their pot of gold!

A lovely week here...

Hi-this is my first post to the RR nature blog. I have had a wonderful week up here. Thought I would share a few of my highlights for within our community and nearby. Nancy and I have been here about 4 years now. Newly heard night bird this week was a Whippoorwill singing from various locations within RR. This is a species in decline according the National Audubon Society, and this is their breeding season. I also heard a Barred Owl and an Eastern Screech Owl this week. Along the river-3 Green Herons roosting in a tree while I was kayaking at dusk, Eastern Kingbirds hawking insects, Yellow-billed Cuckoos, Black-throated Blue Warblers, Scarlet Tanagers, Indigo Buntings, Baltimore Orioles, Acadian and Great Crested Flycatchers, Phoebes and PeWees, Goldfinches and Barn Swallows. At nearby farms, Field Sparrows, another species in decline due to loss of habitat. While riding my bike on the Western Maryland Rail Trail, I was fortunate to see a momma Warbling Vireo with a very shaky young one and I later found an abundance of these birds at the PawPaw Campground. And here is a deer fact-who knew deer could scream?, It's called a "bark". Nearly scared me to death while I was out in my yard after dark!

Rhododendron

River Ridge Birds

Jay Taylor birded in River Ridge today. I've asked him to share his list:

Birds seen along Sideling Mountain Trail, Constant Run Rd. and Pioneer Trail

(8:15 - 10:45 am).

Wood Duck: 2

Mourning Dove: 3

Yellow-billed Cuckoo: 6

Red-bellied Woodpecker: 4

Downy Woodpecker: 2

(Red-shafted) Northern Flicker: 3

Pileated Woodpecker: 3

Eastern Wood Pewee: 4

Acadian Flycatcher: 1

Eastern Phoebe: 9

Great-crested Flycatcher: 6

Eastern Kingbird: 1

Red-eyed Vireo: 12

Blue Jay: 3

American Crow: 4

Tree Swallow: 1

Tufted Titmouse: 10

Black-capped Chickadee: 3

White-breasted Nuthatch: 10

Carolina Wren: 3

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher: 3

Eastern Bluebird: 4

American Robin: 11

Northern Mockingbird: 1

Brown Thrasher: 1

Cedar Waxwing: 4

Northern Parula: 3

Worm-eating Warbler: 1

Louisiana Waterthrush: 1

Northern Cardinal: 2

Indigo Bunting: 9

Eastern Towhee: 2

Chipping Sparrow: 11

Song Sparrow: 2

Brown-headed Cowbird: 1

Red-winged Blackbird: 3

Common Grackle: 3

Baltimore Oriole: 8

American Goldfinch: 7

Also, 1 Black Ratsnake along Constant Run Rd.